IC Members receive 20% off Polar training products this holiday season!
For a limited time only, Buy a Polar Training Computer and receive a FREE STARTER PACK for a family member or friend! Sale Ends December 16, 2011.

Don’t guess your fitness, your body knows it! Polar training computers help you monitor, guage, and plan your workouts in real time. Options include GPS as well as speed/pace/distance sensors so you can track every second of your workout. You can even upload your workout data onto the Polar training website to generate charts, graphs, and other valuable reports for analysis. Train smarter, not harder.

Sale ends December 16th. Get your training computer today!

Beware of the Kettle Witch. “Wear your wrist guards or else…” she says.

Happy Halloween!

Bella 100% Cotton V-Neck.  Reserve your size today.

Here are two portable, lightweight toys you might consider bringing on vacation: an inflatable ball filled with sand and a gym mat.

Check out some of the family oriented fun you can have with them.

Here are the HOT new IC Kettlebell Tees designed by 0700 star Tracy L. We have both women’s and men’s tees in charcoal as well as the women’s boat neck in basic black available in top grade American Apparel fabrics.

Click here to reserve yours today.

Please include name, style, and size.

This simple little combo caused a couple of casualties before it was over on Saturday. Never underestimate a quick rope wave war…

The size and shape of competition bells do not change according to load so they provide great versatility for fundamental strength exercises (outside of kettlebell lifting). Notice the thinner handle; it’s similar to a barbell, but it allows for a great array of grip positions pictured above. 70 lb. dumbbells for example, typically have much thicker handles than the maroon bells Nick is holding. Even the handle on lighter dumbbells, like 15s, don’t have the same diameter as the pink bells Lena is holding. In essence, the competition bells provide a different stimulus in which to apply the traditional deadlift in addition to unilateral lifting.

Sport specific conditioning for Judo.

The stretch cord allows the athlete to change levels and move fluidly between anatomical planes with variable resistance. The chains add the drag factor. The gi provides the tactile sensory input. Mix it up and you have a great tool for implementing judo throws without the uke.

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Congratulations to El Cerrito resident, Sayaka Matsumoto of the East Bay Judo Institute, on her successful entry into the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

Those dreaded sandbags… As annoying and troublesome as they can be to your workout, the constantly shifting load provides a great stimulus for the stabilizer muscles of the core.

The picture above shows four ways to work with sandbags: shoulder/get-up, clean, shoulder/walk, and side bridge.

As we move closer to the truth about kettlebell lifting, we have been able to add very technical elements to more of our basic circuits. Many of you may be wondering what the fuss is all about. Are we getting an adequate “workout” even though everything seems so much calmer during these sets?

According to National Champ Marty Farrell’s explanation of the more popularized style of kettlebells, “It ‘looks’ harder. I see people on youtube do a set with half the weight I use and I find myself noting how hard they look like they’re… working. And even though I feel like sh$# I look like I’m ok…”

The story behind the facade is that you’ll simply “learn how to deal with hell with a semi clear head.”

Post your thoughts about Marty’s quote to comments.

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Factoid: Weighing only 70 kgs., Marty jerked two 32 kg. kettlebells for 66 consecutive reps in order to rank Master of Sport (black belt in kettlebell lifting). This is an amazing feat for any person regardless of size or strength. If you don’t believe us, try it for yourself.